The Nikkei Stock Average surged 771.21 yen to end the morning session at 59,596.10 on 21st, marking its second consecutive daily gain. Trading activity on the Prime Market was robust, with an estimated volume of 884.23 million shares and a turnover of 3,262.8 billion yen. Despite the headline strength, market breadth was negative, with 790 declining issues narrowly outpacing 718 gainers, while 65 stocks remained unchanged.

Buying dominated from the opening bell as the Nikkei climbed steadily to a session high of 59,600 yen. At the morning close, the index sat above the previous all-time high of 59,518 yen reached on 16th. While geopolitical tensions in the Middle East persist, a strong performance by U.S. chip stocks provided a tailwind for Tokyo’s semiconductor heavyweights. However, the rally was highly concentrated in index-weighted names, leaving a majority of individual stocks in the red.

In individual trading, Kioxia Holdings <285A> topped the value list with a sharp gain, followed by advances in Lasertec Corporation <6920> and SoftBank Group Corp. <9984>. Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. <5801> and Ibiden Co., Ltd. <4062> also attracted significant buying. Rigaku Holdings <268A> hit its daily limit, while Nojima Corporation <7419> and Musashi Seimitsu Industry Co., Ltd. <7220> surged. Conversely, JX Advanced Metals Corporation <5016> and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. <7012> faced selling pressure. Toyota Motor Corporation <7203> and Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. <4506> traded lower, while Daiichi Kigenso Kagaku-Kogyo Co., Ltd. <4082> and Shift Inc. <3697> both plunged.

Source: MINKABU PRESS

*Translated by generative AI. Click here for the original article.